So here’s a confusing day for me, as determined by the people who put the tour stops together. One stop: Kilkenny Castle, which was generally interesting, being a medieval castle that is still standing despite everyone constantly attacking everyone else; so, a good choice.
Another stop: Waterford Crystal, which was more interesting than I thought it would be. I’m not a big fan of crystal in general, but watching how it was made actually allowed me to appreciate it more fully.
But in the morning: the Irish National Stud Farm? Seeing the Waterford workmen in action gave me a greater appreciation of the art and craft of crystal-making; touring the stud farm did nothing for me. And as for the attached Japanese Gardens: someone remarked to me that he found them to be lackluster, and I breathed a sigh of relief, having thought it was just me. I have a deep appreciation for Japanese culture, but I didn’t see much of it reflected here, except in a hazy, murky, smoky glass sort of way.
From my photos, it seems we missed the evening of Irish folk fun and food for dinner at the restaurant. Yes, we took photos of our food, because it was very good (and no Irish stew again!). We also had an excellent waiter, Damien, with whom we shared photos of our cats.
MUSOFYR 